Concept of Knowledge in ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’

The gothic novel of Frankenstein, and the dystopian novel of The Handmaid’s Tale both share similar themes and symbols. One of the most significant similarities between the novels is how the author presents the role of knowledge; both novels imply a thirst for knowledge can end tragically. As well as this, the authors of both novels create a rebellious pursuit for knowledge through their protagonists. However, the two novels differ in the way the authors have structured the narrative to make the reader feel toward the concept of knowledge.

The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel set in an American state that is overrun by a patriarchal regime which uses fear and manipulation to control the population. The author, Margaret Atwood, creates a motif of knowledge in her writing by presenting the concept of knowledge as a dangerous aspect to procure in Gilead. This idea is reinforced by the “Wall”, where scientists are hanged because the regime views them as a threat for having a high level of scientific knowledge. Similarly, the author of the gothic novel ‘Frankenstein’, Mary Shelley, also presents the concept of knowledge as dangerous through giving the protagonist of the story (Victor Frankenstein) the hamartia of ambition for knowledge - which began the spiral to his tragic fate. Shelley uses this tragic flaw to present the concept of knowledge as dangerous through the series of unfortunate events that followed Victor once he began his pursuit for knowledge in making the Monster; starting with the isolation Victor experienced, making him miserable, followed by the murder of his youngest brother William. In The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood uses this quote in one of Offred’s flashbacks, “Temptation comes next. At the centre, temptation was anything much more than eating and sleeping. Knowing was a temptation. What you don’t know won’t tempt you, Aunt Lydia used to say.” This quote assists in explaining the concept of knowledge in the dystopian novel as it explains that knowledge, in Gilead, is a sinful temptation that should not be pursued. This point could also be linked to ‘Frankenstein’ as the “temptation” Victor feels to test the limits of science for knowledge is sinful as he goes against God. The novel Frankenstein was written in 1816, which is significant as in the early 1800s, the public were very religious, so the idea of Victor playing God by creating life from lifeless matter would have been daunting for them. As well as this, they were in a time period with major scientific advancements, so a 19th century reader may question if Victor’s blasphemous actions were truly possible.

The horror novel Frankenstein was inspired by the Industrial Revolution of 1760 to 1840. Frankentein’s monster appears to be Shelley's representation of the revolution, and the fears and anxieties society had regarding the rapid growth of scientific knowledge. This contextual factor directly links to Victor Frankentein’s desire for pursuing the unknown of natural philosophical knowledge, which leads to his downfall to a tragic fate. Similarly, Offred’s pursuit for knowledge of the rebellion against the Gileadean regime was the cause of her tragic fate at the end of the Orwellian novel. Summarised, the protagonists of both novels, (Victor and Offred), meet their inevitable fates ultimately due to their pursuits for knowledge. Victor Frankenstein’s death was brought upon by the drive to murder his own creation, while Offred’s (theorised) death was brought upon by her drive for destroying the regime she was controlled by. Death is a key theme in both novels, and is foreshadowed continuously to hint to the reader that the pursuit the characters are on will end tragically. In The Handmaid’s Tale, the Commander expresses that “better never means better for everyone… it always means worse, for some”. The author, Margaret Atwood, purposely left this quote ambiguous to foreshadow that the rebellion attempting to make society “better for everyone” may end “worse” for Offred by becoming involved. Death is also foreshadowed in ‘Frankenstein’ through a dream Victor described as “the first kiss on her lips, became livid with the hue of death”; this explicitly foreshadows the later death of Elizabeth by the hands of Frankenstein's monster. A further similarity between the pursuits for knowledge by Victor and Offred is that it is rebellious against the societies they live in. Offred is rebelling against the strict regime of Gilead by contributing to the rebellion, while Victor is rebelling against God by creating new life on Earth. The era in which ‘Frankenstein’ was written in was a highly Christian society in England at the time; with this, a Victorian audience would be astounded by Victor’s deep ambition to continue his blasphemous experiments.

However, the authors of Frankenstein and The Handmaid’s Tale differ in the way they have opposingly made the reader think and feel towards the concept of knowledge in both novels. Throughout the story of Victor Frankenstein and his creation, a Victorian reader would urge Victor to end his experiments and to stop his pursuit of testing the limits of natural science. Contrastingly, a contemporary reader of The Handmaid’s Tale would support the pursuit Offred is on to gain knowledge for the rebellion as her help will contribute to the end of the Gileadean dictatorship. As well as this, Atwood and Shelley juxtapose in the way they have structured the narrative in which the story is told. Atwood uses the structural methods of analepsis and dream sequences to narrate a past event at a point later than its chronological place in the story. This novel is ordered by days, nights, and naps; a lot of the narrative exists inside Offred’s head rather than the world around her. Atwood is using a meta-fictive narrative, meaning that her story is essentially self aware; Offed knows that she is recounting a story, hence her emphasis that “this is a reconstruction”. Atwood utilises this narrative to ensure the reader is constantly aware that we are reading. This is effective as this method creates a sense of reality within the reader - the reader is continuously reminded that the horrors of the Gileadean regime is possible to happen in real life. In Frankenstein, Shelley parents the novel in a framed narrative, told in an epistolary form by Walton. The effect of Walton tying the tragic story together is to highlight that the fate of Victor Frankenstein could be repeated by others if they allow the concept of knowledge to dictate them. With this, both authors contrast in the way they have used narrative structure to make the reader feel towards the concept of knowledge.

Summarised, the concept of knowledge is presented as a forbidden and frowned upon concept in the societies both novels are set in. The pursuit for knowledge the protagonists of both novels are on also presents the concept of knowledge as a concept that will inevitably lead to a tragic fate. Contrastingly, the narrative structure of both novels differ in the way it makes the reader feel towards the concept of knowledge.